My partner and I are wanting to know the process for civil union. Where do we find that information and how much does it cost?

Well, first off, congrats! That's a big life decision but doesn't appear to be an overly cumbersome process. You'll need to obtain a license, certify that license and submit the license for government records.

To obtain a license, you'll both need to bring your IDs to one of the Larimer County Clerk and Recorder's office locations in Fort Collins, Loveland or Estes Park. If you'd like the process to move along quickly, you can fill out this form beforehand. The license will cost you $30 and is good for 35 days. If you turn it in late, it'll cost you another $20.

Lesson: Don't be tardy.

Next, it's ceremony time. Another good thing to be on time for. If you'd like, you can certify your own civil union as a couple. You can also have a variety of other people perform a ceremony and certify this for you. They'd need to be a judge, retired judge, magistrate, Indian tribe official or clergy.

After the ceremony, turn the license back in to the Clerk and Recorder's office and you'll be all set!

For all the information you could possibly want, check out the Civil Unions page on the Larimer County website. And if you still have questions, you can call the Clerk and Recorder's office at 970-498-7860.

Congrats again! Let me know where to send the toaster oven.

When the Mason corridor is complete, will all the Transfort bus stops be removed from College Ave?

I know what you're thinking: They can't take service off of College Avenue. It will make such a better back drop for my remake of the 1994 blockbuster Speed.

Cue sad Keanu: You're going to have to keep it above 55 on Mason St.

Yes, bus service will being coming off College Avenue when MAX comes online. Officials say it would be a parallel service and therefore not needed. Transfort folks say the MAX service will be an improvement.

So if you're walking from the east side of College to reach your bus stop, as the person who asked this question will be, it's going to mean a bit of extra work on the pedestrian portion of your commute.

You've still got time to get your filming in. MAX service is scheduled to begin May 2014. For the latest on MAX, follow along at www.coloradoan.com/max.

Is there any way to tell which little lakes in Fort Collins have public areas?

No one ever accused Colorado of being the Land of 1000 Lakes. Heck, most people look at our lakes and call them ponds. They look at our ponds and asked if it rained earlier today. Year after year, we put in a lot of effort to deal with the drought conditions of our region (not to mention the wild fires).

As such, a number of folks have taken it upon themselves to build their own bodies of water, whether it's a watering hole for cattle or beauty and recreation for landowners.

And generally, that means other folks can't use the man made lakes and ponds. Warren Lake and most other small lakes around the city are not open to public access. Generally, they are privately owned and often have different ownership for the surface rights and the land along the shoreline. If it’s not in a public park, such as Sheldon Lake in City Park, you should probably assume the lake is not open for public use.

That said, there are several natural areas around town that are open to the public. The city's website will show you which activities are allowed at which areas.

Are there any eating challenges in Fort Collins?

So you want to get your Adam Richman on in Fort Collins, huh? Good news: The Man vs. Food star has already been through town to scope it out for you.

At Pizza Casbah on 126 West Laurel Street, you can take the 30" pizza challenge: two people, five toppings, one hour and $50 to give it a go. If you manage to finish that monster pie, the folks at Pizza Casbah say they'll give your money back, a gift card plus "an extra ten bucks for some Tums." You'll also be immortalized on their wall of fame.

You'll need to make a reservation beforehand, so give them a call at 970.221.9144.

And if you're in it to win it, you may want to check out these tips from competitive eater Randy Santel.

Why there are so many helicopters and low flying planes passing over my home in Summitview?

You say it like it's a bad thing. Sounds like your place is a prime location for aerial hitchhiking. Or at least ask them to check your roof for hail damage.

But don't throw snowballs. I'm pretty sure that would get you a visit from Homeland Security.

In any case, there's no doubt they are buzzing around up there. There are a number of reasons you might see a mid-air vehicle of some sort above Fort Collins.

It's pretty likely that least some of those are crop-dusting planes and choppers. There are also several helicopter-repair facilities in the area, so it could be they've been in for a tune-up.

And just like those of us with wheels on the ground make road trips during the summer, private pilots often take more flights in these warmer months, visiting places like Steamboat Springs or Granby for lunch before flying home.

Last year, local law enforcement used military helicopters to search for marijuana grows. No word on whether that's going on again this year.

Are there any playground-style merry-go-rounds in Fort Collins?

Getting a bit more time on the playground before school starts back up? Good call. The problem is that merry-go-rounds seem to be going out of style like parachute pants. Once a playground staple, they've become pretty difficult to track down.

But two things are true of great trends.

1) They never completely go away.

2) Eventually, someone's going to miss it and bring it back.

Retro or reborn, there are still merry-go-rounds to be had in Fort Collins. Here's where to look.

The consensus around town is that the old style metal one at the Fossil Creek Meadows HOA Park on Fossil Creek Parkway is pretty cool. You may want to check to see if it's open to the public. I'll update this when I find out.

There's another one at the new city-owned Registry Park at Shields and Trilby as well as Lee Martinez Park just north of Old Town.

Sounds like a great time to be had, and like it should probably be followed by a stop for ice cream. Here are a few spots locals seem to enjoy.

Can you compare academic performance of Fossil Ridge High to PSD Global Academy's high school students?

Picking sides for the academic Royal Rumble, are we? Let's turn to the tale of the tape.

A good resource for questions like this is www.schoolview.org. It shows us that for last year, Global’s reading, writing and science scores on standardized testing came in below both the PSD and state averages. Meanwhile, Fossil Ridge students over the past three years have scored better than the state and district averages.

By the numbers, Fossil Ridge students achieve at a higher rate than those enrolled in Global. But unless you're recruiting for Teen Jeopardy, there may be other questions to consider when choosing the right school for a student.

Fossil Ridge will provide a “traditional” high school experience, complete with 2,000 peers, athletics, extracurricular activities and more. PSD Global Academy had enrollment of 154 last year and offers a more on-demand virtual classroom experience without the brick-and-mortar setting. This can be a big benefit for students with non-traditional schedules, behavioral problems, social anxiety or other issues that make a traditional classroom setting difficult for them.

That being said, students traditionally score lower on self-led and online classes than in traditional class settings for a variety of reasons ranging from motivation, structure, etc. An independent, motivated student can excel, but the right support structure for success is key.

The schools are very different and designed to meet the needs of. You can learn more about each at www.psdschools.org, and can talk to school administrators about the benefits of each.